How to build a musical instrument for school

Written by ivy morris

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You can make your own guitar or set of maracas out of simple materials. (Getty Thinkstock)

Homemade instruments provide schoolchildren with hours of musical entertainment. Children can create simple instruments using basic materials found around the house, such as tissue boxes and paper towel tubes. Guitars, maracas and kazoos are three instruments children can make for school projects or just for fun. They can decorate the instruments with inexpensive art supplies, including paint, markers and stickers. These craft projects require minimal supervision, but parents are advised to assist young children with any measuring and cutting needed for the instruments.

Skill level:

Easy

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Things you need

Guitar:

Tissue box

Shoebox

Ruler

Scissors

3 rubber bands

Pencil

Empty paper towel tube

Tape

Maraca:

2 paper plates

1 cup of either popcorn kernels, dried beans, or dry rice

Stapler

Paint

Markers

Crayons

Stickers

Glitter glue

Kazoo:

Empty paper towel tube

Empty toilet paper tube

Craft paint

Scissors

Construction paper

Craft foam

Glue

Ruler

Waxed paper

Rubber band

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Instructions

1

Choose a tissue box, or a shoebox with a lid, to build your guitar.

2

Lay the box horizontal on a table. Stand it up so the lid or tissue hole is on top.

3

Cut a 12.7 cm (5 inch) by 7.6 cm (3 inch) oval-shaped hole in the centre of the top of the shoebox. If you're using a tissue box, there's already a pre-cut hole in the centre.

4

Stretch three normal-sized rubber bands around the length of the box, centring the rubber bands or "guitar strings" over the hole.

5

Place a pencil under the rubber bands on the left side of the oval.

6

Tape one end of a paper towel tube to the right side of the box to serve as the guitar neck.

7

Strum the rubber band guitar strings to make music.

1

Lay a paper plate right side up on your workspace so the lip of the plate faces up.

2

Fill the paper plate with one cup of popcorn kernels, dried beans or dry rice.

3

Place the second paper plate upside side down on top of first paper plate, lining up the lips of the paper plates so they touch all the way around.

4

Secure the two paper plates together with a staple every 1.3 cm (1/2 an inch) on the edges of the plates.